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Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Thursday, March 16, 2017 - Can I be accused of sins of lack of concern, inability to assess the reality of situations, closing my eyes and ears to the injustices around me, being caught up in my own small world? Does my reflection on sin include “sins of omission”?

The
parable of today has often been titled as the parable of “Dives and Lazarus”.
It can be seen to be divided into three parts. If in the first part the focus
is on rich man’s (who is not named. The term “dives” in Latin means “rich”)
opulence and wealth, in the second part it is on his death and burial. In the
third part which is the longest there is for the first time in the story, a
dialogue. It is between the rich man and Abraham and is the climax of the
story.

The
story begins by describing the rich man and his dress and food. The “purple and
fine linen” may signify that he was a high ranking official, since the Romans
had set standards regarding who could wear purple and how much purple they
could wear. In contrast to the rich man there is a poor man who is named
Lazarus. He is the only character in Jesus’ parables to be given a name. The
name Lazarus means “God helps”. The fact that he is at the gate of the rich
man’s house signifies that though the rich man could see Lazarus, he was not
aware of his existence. He is so caught up in his world of material things that
this results in his inability to see reality right before him. Lazarus would
have been content with the bread which was used to wipe the grease from the
hand of the one eating and then thrown under the table. However, even this he
did not receive. Instead, dogs fed off his sores.

The
death of Lazarus is no surprise. However, the detail that is added is that
Lazarus is carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. This detail brings
to mind that God indeed comes to Lazarus’ help.
The death of the rich man is described in a short sentence which brings
out strikingly the transient nature of all his opulence and wealth.

In
the third part, there is dialogue between the rich man and Abraham. Lazarus
does not speak at all. He is in the bosom of Abraham. Being “in the bosom” of
Abraham may imply that Lazarus was the honoured guest at the eschatological
banquet, feasting while the rich man was in torment. In the request that the rich man makes of
Abraham to let Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue,
he calls Lazarus by name which indicates that he knew who Lazarus was and yet
refused to look at him on earth as a person. In his response, Abraham reminds
the rich man of his and Lazarus’ past and of the chasm that separated them
then, but which had been erected by the rich man, and which still separates
them now. It is admirable that even in his torment the rich man can think of
others (even if they be members of his own immediate family). He makes a second
request of Abraham to send Lazarus as a messenger to warn his brothers. Abraham
responds that the brothers have already received enough and more instruction
and if they have not heeded that they will not heed another. The rich man tries
one final time to convince Abraham to send Lazarus as one who has gone back
from the dead. Abraham responds by telling the rich man that for those who
believe no proof is necessary and for those who do not no proof is sufficient.

The
rich man in the story is so caught with the things of the world and with his
own self interests that these prevent him from even becoming aware of the needs
of another. A number of questions to which there are no easy answers are raised
by this parable and we must keep reflecting on them constantly if we are not to
lose touch with reality.

About Me

There are four maxims I try to live by. The first is to ALWAYS have CHOICES about everything. The more choices I have, the less the chances of my being disappointed.
The Second is that I try to see my REWARD in the doing of the action itself. I will expect nothing from anyone in return and even expect the very ones I have helped to be ungrateful. It does not matter. I do not mind.
The third is that every stage in my life I try to KNOW where my authority ends. This saves a lot of bother. I am not the General Manager of the Universe. I do what I have to do and leave the rest to God.
The fourth is a readiness to face the consequences of my action. When I make a gaffe I am willing to rectify it and apologize. However, if it cannot be rectified I am ready to face the penalty.